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Johan Ernst Nilson is a Swedish explorer whose projects have included the Seven Summits journey, in which he reached the top of the highest mountains on all seven continents. His current journey is the Climate Neutral Pole2Pole, where he’s heading from the North to the South Pole. He is also an ambassador for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Jacket by Thom Browne

This is a white cotton jacket with the Spanish flag on the back. It is a little bit trendy, but a little bit elegant. I wore this to a meeting with The Clinton Foundation, and one with Unicef. What I do is a bit extraordinary and different so I like clothing that is like that as well. I don’t want to be normal.

I like Prada as a brand because it is stylish, but with some crazy parts. The trousers can be strict because they are a bit tighter than ordinary, say, khaki trousers, but they are stretchy. These suit what I do because they are great for travelling. And if you fly a lot, jeans are uncomfortable to sit in for many hours. I also travel by bicycle a lot and I can jump on the bike wearing these.

I bought this “on the road” in Vancouver. I had my plastic boots and my down jacket, so when I found out I had to come to meetings in New York, I bought this. Normally I don’t buy clothes on the go because if you’re on Everest, where are you going to keep them? But I’ll buy clothes before I go on expedition.

I have a lot of custom-made things, such as bikes and skis, Audi designs my sleds (I’m a brand ambassador), and everything is thought through in detail. This watch was made for the expedition to go between the poles. It’s very light, but can cope with extreme temperatures. It can go through jungles and polar regions. It’s black and has the expedition logo and has my name on it. They made a special edition of 500 and I have the one numbered one.

I am wearing black onyx, seed pearl and white gold beads, Tibetan style. I always wear a lot of bracelets. I can’t claim they’re useful on Everest or that I can’t survive without them, but I did get them on expedition in Tibet. I have studied a lot of Buddhist philosophy and I’m interested in it. I can’t say I’m a Buddhist, but it represents something I’m very curious about.

Necklace from Tibet or Nepal

It is old so I don’t remember where this is from. It’s a medallion with a black necklace and it’s so old you can’t even see what’s on it, but it might have been an old coin. I like wondering about what it was and who owned it.